Haas Confirms Kevin Magnussen Role Despite Formula 1 Exit

Saajan Jogia | Jan 23, 2025

Nov 20, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen (20) during media availabilities at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has confirmed that Kevin Magnussen, who parted ways with the team and Formula 1 after the 2024 season, will continue working with the squad. The Haas team boss' revelation comes despite Magnussen's fresh endurance racing journey with BMW that begins this year.

Haas' 2024 driver lineup has been replaced entirely. While Magnussen exited the sport, his teammate Nico Hulkenberg secured a seat with Sauber, which will rebrand as Audi in 2026 following a full takeover. Esteban Ocon and rookie Oliver Bearman will replace both drivers from the 2025 season.

Magnussen found his calling with BMW M Motorsport's works LMDh (Hypercar) program, where he will compete not only in the World Endurance Championship and IMSA but also in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, his schedule for the year is yet to be announced.

His former American F1 team has retained him for the Testing of Previous Cars program, where he will test two-year-old F1 cars for developmental purposes. In addition, the Dane will also test in the team's simulator backed by Toyota, following the commencement of Haas' new technical partnership with the Japanese automaker.

A report also states that Magnussen will perform reserve driver duties for Haas on select race weekends, but the deal is yet to be finalized. Haas recently completed its first Testing of Previous Cars session at Spain's Jerez Circuit, which was the team's first track outing with its new driver lineup, including Toyota's Ritomo Miyata, who is participating in Formula 2.

Miyata's F1 training is part of the collaboration with Toyota Gazoo Racing which was done to assist Haas on the technical front, while TGR receives first-hand F1 experience and commercial expertise, which could potentially open doors for its Formula1 return in the future.

The TPC sessions are a valuable asset for small teams like Haas, made possible through its partnership with TGR. Komatsu revealed that these sessions are important for training the staff to help them reach a level where they can serve as backup resources when needed. He said:

“TPC is very important in terms of training personnel.

“We have just over 300 people, we have no contingency in personnel, so if let’s say one race engineer, one performance engineer decides to leave or has a programme not to attend a race we are really struggling, on the limit all the time, and in order to improve the organisation you cannot be that kind of survival stage as a baseline. 

“We’ve got to build up our organisation, so through TPC we can start training our engineers, our mechanics, having backup people there.”